Till JBMAC comes back with a first hand account let me chip in with second hand

Stat am was not inelegant but not really an absolute purists delight due to a slightly open action. Nowhere near Malcolm Marshall's direct head on square one but slightly as most bowlers who seam the ball in to right handers, tend to acquire . Trevor Bailey, the England bowler whose injury on tour made for Statham's test debut writes . . .

Statham has always been more of a seamer than a swing bowler . . . This was largely due to his body action which was, perhaps, a shade too open for the purist, but his high right arm and the way it chased his left arm across his body until checked by his left hip were copy book.

Statham's partner in that legendary partnership, Fred Trueman, has similar views. . .

Brian was the ideal model for any young fast bowler. He had a fluent athletic run up that was rounded off by a good action even if he bowled from the inside of his left elbow and was slightly chest on.

If you look at his pictures at the start of his final delivery action you see a left hnd dead straight vertical but he is not looking at the batsman over his left shoulder but from the side of his left arm pit. Then look at the finish and follow through and it is copy book with a huge sweep of the bowling arm right across his body in classical style.

I can understand why he would look elegant when you combine this action with probably the most accurate fast bowler in history. According to Trueman and Bailey both, many thought of him as fast medium only on account of his awesome accuracy which was never associated with genuine fast bowlers.